Joker's Band Game Story

"What a novel way to play!"

Under the helpless gaze of Amamiya Ren and the surprised gaze of Li Yaoling, the two saw Nijika trying to coax Goto Ichiri out.

At this moment, Yili crawled into a trash can, which was just the right size for her to fit inside.

"Is this what they call Japanese bullying?"

"Of course not! Although bullying still exists, it's not as serious as it used to be!"

Ren Amamiya reached out and chopped off Li Yaoling's head to stop her from thinking nonsense, but there was nothing she could do. The two girls looked at the girl trembling in the trash can, and it looked like bullying no matter how they looked at it.

"So what's going on now?"

Ren Amamiya turned his attention back to Ichiri Goto, wanting to know what problems this group of people had that needed to be solved.

Without a doubt, the problem lies with this Goto student, who feels he might need to understand what kind of child Goto really is through Shoko.

Isn't she a little too introverted?

"Ah, actually, it's like this. Ichiri feels a bit embarrassed to face the audience. Brother Ren, do you have any ideas?"

Nijika turned to ask Ren Amamiya, wanting to know if Ren had any way to encourage Ichiri Goto to be brave.

At that moment, Liang pulled out a cardboard box from somewhere and said, "If all else fails, we can just crawl inside and play."

This cardboard box... if Ren Amamiya is not mistaken, it should be the box used to hold mangoes, right?

Fanxing obtained a food and beverage license, so naturally they also sell goods. The drinks they sell are not the kind of crude method where they just pour a large bucket of cola into a cup and serve it to the audience. Instead, they actually make juice, and the mango is the raw material used to make mango juice.

"Hmm... I think we could give it a try."

Looking at Ichiri's timid appearance, Ren Amamiya felt that words of encouragement might not be as reliable as this cardboard box.

"So it really isn't bullying?"

"Of course not!"

After some effort, they managed to get Ichiri out of the trash can and into a cardboard box. She even commented, "It's exactly the same as... the environment where I usually play guitar!"

"Oh no, I think she really is someone who's meant to be bullied."

Ren Amamiya slapped his forehead; he didn't know what to say.

Is this child really without any problems? Where exactly does he practice guitar?

He felt that Hongxia had found a very remarkable student...

"Everyone! Let's get this party started!"

Watching the box wriggle back and forth, Ren Amamiya seemed to understand something: "So it's just a simple fear of communicating with people?"

She can say things she wouldn't normally dare to say while inside the box, so in that sense it should be...

"Cage protection?"

Li Yaoling felt that this pink-haired dog was more like a puppy. It was very timid outside the cage, but became bolder inside, and could even say such rock and roll things.

"Don't talk about others like they're dogs..."

For a moment, Hongxia was too exhausted to even complain. The coldness had already made her unable to vent, and now with Li Yaoling and Brother Lian, who was even more eager to watch the show, she felt completely overwhelmed.

"It seems the problem is basically solved, so we won't disturb you any longer as you're building your band bond."

After finishing speaking, Ren Amamiya pushed Yao Ling away from there. He felt that since she was introverted, the more people in the room there were, the more nervous she would become. He decided to leave for now and talk to her more after they got to know each other better.

"I feel like everyone's acting a little strange."

"Strange? You mean something's not normal?"

"A little, hehe..."

"Well, after all, it's normal that there aren't many normal people among musicians."

How many art students are actually normal? The majority are actually abnormal.

"But I think you're perfectly normal, Xiaolian~"

Li Yaoling chuckled; she was actually quite happy.

Arriving at a livehouse, a completely unfamiliar place, she was actually a little nervous, but for some reason, she felt at ease when she was with Ren Amamiya.

That's great!

"I remember you have a good voice, right?"

At this moment, Ren Amamiya suddenly remembered something and asked Yaoling Li about it.

"Yes...what's wrong?"

"How about we go on a performance together next time?"

"Huh?! Why?!"

"Didn't you want to challenge yourself? Singing is a great way to release your emotions~ Besides, what if you can find a band that suits you?"

Is it suitable for my band?

Li Yaoling didn't expect Amamiya to suddenly bring this up. She clapped her hands and said, "Could it be that Xiaolian wants to form a band with me?"

"Oh, no, not at all." "Eh~"

Seeing Ren Amamiya make a denial gesture, Li Yaoling couldn't help but exclaim "Eh?" She hadn't expected Ren Amamiya to say something like that.

Meanwhile, Saeko, who seemed to have woken up, yawned and explained the situation to Ren Amamiya: "If Ren wanted to form a band, he would have done so long ago. It would be strange if he couldn't find a band with his skills."

"Really? Xiaolian, are you very amazing?"

Li Yaoling asked Amamiya Ren with suspicion, and Amamiya, having nothing to hide, nodded and admitted it directly.

To say he's number one in Japan is impossible, but to say he's a professional is definitely not a problem.

While they were chatting, Xiangzi also sat down at the ticket window to sell tickets. Amamiya Ren gave Xiangzi two coins to buy two tickets, along with two small tokens.

"this is?"

"The ticket price is cheaper at Starry Sky, which is considered a restaurant, because there's also the cost of the drinks that's included in the ticket.

Tickets at RiNG cost around 3,000 yen, while at Fanxing only cost 1,500 yen. Of course, if you include the cost of the bundled drinks, it will actually cost 2,000 yen to watch a show at Fanxing.

The price wasn't exactly cheap, but it wasn't that expensive either. Japan is a typical country where people earn a lot but spend a lot. In their eyes, two thousand yen is just the money for two hours of work, since the minimum hourly wage for part-time work is around one thousand yen.

"Hey~ there are drinks too~"

"Yes, you can usually choose your drinks, like mango juice or grape juice. You can find Hongxia at the front desk... Ah!"

It was only then that Ren Amamiya realized that Nijika, who used to work at the front desk, was now practicing her performance backstage. Who would be selling drinks then?

His gaze involuntarily fell on Xingge, who was sitting next to him. Xingge had also heard what Amamiya Ren and Li Yaoling were saying, so the two looked at each other for a moment.

"If it's just for a short while, Lian, you should be able to help, right?"

As Xingge spoke, she pulled a banknote out of her pocket, her meaning quite clear.

Of course, she wouldn't let Ren Amamiya work for free!

Chapter Thirty-Two: A Cardboard Monster Appears During the Live Performance, Sparsh!

"Is this what they call working a part-time job?"

Wearing an apron, Li Yaoling excitedly spoke next to Amamiya Ren, while Amamiya Ren responded to the guest: "Okay, here's your lemonade. Enjoy your meal."

After seeing the guests off, Amamiya Ren responded to Li Yaoling (Part 2): "Watch your posture, aren't you a little too excited right now?"

Li Yaoling was extremely excited at this moment. Even though she was nineteen years old, she still acted like a fifteen-year-old child.

Is this your first time working?

Looking at Li Yaoling, who was nervously shifting left and right, Amamiya Ren roughly guessed what was wrong with her.

Unlike China, it is common for high school students to work in Japan. Some students from wealthy families are even required to work to gain social experience. So, unless they are aiming for university, they will generally choose to work to gain experience and earn some pocket money.

After all, if a child wants to buy a musical instrument, they might have to work for half a month to a month to earn the money. It's okay for wealthy families, but for families that aren't so well-off, a child who wants to buy their first musical instrument really has to work to earn the money themselves.

"Yeah, I've always wanted to work, but my family wouldn't let me. I never expected to experience working after coming to Japan!"

That's how kids who've never worked before are; everything about working is new and exciting.

In China, high school students are expected to study hard. Unless a family is extremely poor, they'd rather sell everything they own to ensure their child finishes their education. Besides, Li Yaoling's family isn't short of money, so of course they don't need her to work.

The lack of money made it impossible for her to study abroad.

"But today is just a temporary experience. After that, you'll have to find a suitable job on your own."

She definitely can't work at Fanxing anymore, since the manager mentioned that they already have enough staff and no longer need long-term workers; having Xiangzi is enough.

In the past, it was usually Hongxia and Liang who would help out here, but today it just so happens that both of them went to prepare for their performance, so neither of them is here.

Xingge would say she would take the initiative to manage this matter, but she is currently struggling with the scheduling.

Scheduling isn't as simple as just staring at the computer and putting the bands into the slots. Every time she makes an adjustment, she needs to call to confirm whether there are any problems. And if something goes wrong, she has to rack her brains to figure out how to adjust the schedule.

This is really giving me a headache!

"Sister Xingge seems to still be worried."

Li Yaoling secretly glanced at Ichiji Hoshika, who was about to start a fight with her computer not far away, and couldn't help but sigh that the job was not easy.

"That's normal, she doesn't have a few days without worry."

Ren Amamiya, however, thought it was quite normal; anyone who works in a livehouse would have this problem.

A band performs two or three songs, then takes a short break before the next band takes the stage. Basically, only five or six bands perform each day.

Large live music venues might be fine, but smaller ones like Fanxing Live Music Venues can be a real dilemma.

"A mango juice, please."

"Okay, mango juice, please wait a moment."

Ren Amamiya repeated the drinks the customer had ordered, and he immediately turned to make them.

The workload of making drinks at Fanxing is not small. Because of the mandatory beverage fee, every customer will come to buy a drink, so Ren Amamiya is always very busy.

Li Yaoling was helping out on the side, but she couldn't complete the work on her own right now, as she still couldn't quite understand what the group of people were saying.